My Thoughts on the 'Waters of Mars'
Nov. 16th, 2009 03:29 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bluejeans07Or this could be called 'Jean's Take on the Current Mental State of the Doctor'.
See, I don't think that the Doctor was crazy or out of character in this episode. I think he was perfectly in character and perfectly sane, but this episode defined a part of him that people don't seem to realize. It's true that the Doctor is "Doctor. Doctor. Fun.", that he's amazing, happy, allonsy-go-lucky Doctor, but people seem to forget all the things he also is: fire, ice and terrible. Even the Doctor seems to take great pains to hide that part of himself as well because that part of him was the one that causes genocide and causes the end of the Time War. (for Tealin: THROW AN ALARM CLOCK!)
The Doctor is like a god even though he isn't at the same time because he's strongly, STRONGLY adamant about not being one. The Time Lords are a 'race' but they have the word 'Lords' in their name. Sure they can also be called 'Gallifreyans' but they're not, whenever the Doctor makes a reference to his race, they're the Time LORDS. Lords of Time. It's a part of him that he finally acknowledged, that he is the only Lord left and therefore all the laws of time and space were his.
Sure it's a presumptuous position BUT I think it was a logical step for him, especially considering the circumstances. We got a taste of this in Pompeii but this defined it. In general, the Doctor is a good person and even though he knows he's not supposed to save the crew on Mars, he does because he can't help himself. All of good people, in his position, would probably have done the same. But what also happened was that he started making reasons why he could save them even though he wasn't supposed to, basically making arguments in his own mind of why he's NOT breaking the rules of time by saving them. He changed it from "I'm going to save these people even though I'm not supposed to because I want them to survive" to "I'm going to save these people and PUNCH TIME IN THE FACE BECAUSE I AM ITS LORD."
That's where he went wrong in this episode. It wasn't from being crazy because he went through a logical thought process, and it wasn't an out of character move for him either. The Doctor has constantly expounded on the fact that he's brilliant for multiple episodes already and yeah, he IS brilliant. But this is the only time that his ego completely took over and with everything else, brought him up to a god-like status. He made a mistake and that is a character flaw, which is what makes the Doctor a wonderful character because he IS flawed. Flawed and brilliant.
If he was truly a god, then people would have bowed down and thanked him, worshipped him for saving them. But the Doctor in that moment of revelry had forgotten about the free will that humans possess. After all the knowledge he had given Adelaide, she knew what she had to do and she wasn't going to let the Doctor get away with what he had done. Her death is a humbling moment for him, that despite everything Time Lords aren't gods. It's a reminder that despite the name that's a title, despite they see and understand time on a level most races can't, they're still subject to all the wibbly wobbley timey wimey that time is, especially all the fixed points that have to happen. The Time War was probably also a fixed point in time and he can't undo that either, it was only his arrogance that made him believe for a moment that he could control what time was.
Anyway, I enjoyed the episode. Yeah it was depressing, but I loved that it defined this side of the Doctor's character so wonderfully. We don't get to see a lot of the Doctor's flaws because we're so used to magnificent, world saving Doctor, but this is what makes this character so fantastic. Perfect characters are boring, imperfect characters have layers of interestingness that just makes them so delightful. I can't wait to see 'The End of Time' in December and how this part of him works in going towards his regeneration.
See, I don't think that the Doctor was crazy or out of character in this episode. I think he was perfectly in character and perfectly sane, but this episode defined a part of him that people don't seem to realize. It's true that the Doctor is "Doctor. Doctor. Fun.", that he's amazing, happy, allonsy-go-lucky Doctor, but people seem to forget all the things he also is: fire, ice and terrible. Even the Doctor seems to take great pains to hide that part of himself as well because that part of him was the one that causes genocide and causes the end of the Time War. (for Tealin: THROW AN ALARM CLOCK!)
The Doctor is like a god even though he isn't at the same time because he's strongly, STRONGLY adamant about not being one. The Time Lords are a 'race' but they have the word 'Lords' in their name. Sure they can also be called 'Gallifreyans' but they're not, whenever the Doctor makes a reference to his race, they're the Time LORDS. Lords of Time. It's a part of him that he finally acknowledged, that he is the only Lord left and therefore all the laws of time and space were his.
Sure it's a presumptuous position BUT I think it was a logical step for him, especially considering the circumstances. We got a taste of this in Pompeii but this defined it. In general, the Doctor is a good person and even though he knows he's not supposed to save the crew on Mars, he does because he can't help himself. All of good people, in his position, would probably have done the same. But what also happened was that he started making reasons why he could save them even though he wasn't supposed to, basically making arguments in his own mind of why he's NOT breaking the rules of time by saving them. He changed it from "I'm going to save these people even though I'm not supposed to because I want them to survive" to "I'm going to save these people and PUNCH TIME IN THE FACE BECAUSE I AM ITS LORD."
That's where he went wrong in this episode. It wasn't from being crazy because he went through a logical thought process, and it wasn't an out of character move for him either. The Doctor has constantly expounded on the fact that he's brilliant for multiple episodes already and yeah, he IS brilliant. But this is the only time that his ego completely took over and with everything else, brought him up to a god-like status. He made a mistake and that is a character flaw, which is what makes the Doctor a wonderful character because he IS flawed. Flawed and brilliant.
If he was truly a god, then people would have bowed down and thanked him, worshipped him for saving them. But the Doctor in that moment of revelry had forgotten about the free will that humans possess. After all the knowledge he had given Adelaide, she knew what she had to do and she wasn't going to let the Doctor get away with what he had done. Her death is a humbling moment for him, that despite everything Time Lords aren't gods. It's a reminder that despite the name that's a title, despite they see and understand time on a level most races can't, they're still subject to all the wibbly wobbley timey wimey that time is, especially all the fixed points that have to happen. The Time War was probably also a fixed point in time and he can't undo that either, it was only his arrogance that made him believe for a moment that he could control what time was.
Anyway, I enjoyed the episode. Yeah it was depressing, but I loved that it defined this side of the Doctor's character so wonderfully. We don't get to see a lot of the Doctor's flaws because we're so used to magnificent, world saving Doctor, but this is what makes this character so fantastic. Perfect characters are boring, imperfect characters have layers of interestingness that just makes them so delightful. I can't wait to see 'The End of Time' in December and how this part of him works in going towards his regeneration.
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Date: 2009-11-17 10:34 am (UTC)no subject
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Date: 2009-11-18 08:46 pm (UTC)I've been waiting to do a lump-sum marathon of all these Doctor Who specials now that I've had time to digest my disappointment from season 4. LOL